Category Archives: Bread

Some people like to collect stamps, some people like to collect trading cards. Me? I like to collect different types of pantry ingredients. For example, I don’t have just one or two bottles of vinegar in my cupboard, I have well over a dozen different varieties of vinegar. When it comes to throwing together a quick or an exotic meal, I have all my bases covered. My pantry is chock full of wide range of ingredients that would make most discerning home cook squeal with delight. However, I make it a point to avoid purchasing pre-made mixes or boxed dinners. Finding a box of “Hamburger Helper” sitting in my cupboard is as likely as me becoming the next new swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated. Just not happening…

One of the random ingredients sitting on the pantry shelf was a little can of organic sweet potato puree. I have to tell you that when I bought it puree, I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I’ve never used canned sweet potato puree before, so I simply wanted to taste it and see how it compared to sweet potato puree made from scratch.

I was surprised to find that the canned sweet potato puree tasted really good. The sweet potato puree was creamy, sweet and is reminiscent of cooked pumpkin. It also made a decent substitute for canned pumpkin and it saved me about an hours worth of time if I decided to prepare it myself. With all that said, I still stand behind my opinion that fresh ingredients always tastes better than canned. However, there is no shame in using a good quality canned ingredients. I just did, and I was pleased with the results.

My easy to make Sweet Potato Bread is light, moist and has the wonderful flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. It’s great sliced for a quick breakfast on the go or as a snack with a warm cup of tea. Enjoy! Tessa

I don’t know about you, but whenever I have any overripe bananas that need to be saved, I just toss them in the freezer to be used at a later date. Once frozen, bananas are perfect for making banana bread. Until yesterday, I had no idea how many bananas that I had stashed in my freezer. This morning, I counted at least 2 dozen stray frozen bananas. It’s no wonder stuff keeps dropping out of the freezer every time I open the freezer door…

It’s been quite a while since I baked anything and I had a bunch of bananas that needed to be used up. Baking loaves of triple chocolate banana bread was the just the ticket to using up that freezer full of bananas. The chocolatey aroma that emitted from my kitchen was nothing short of heavenly. It reminded me of rich chocolate brownies… My triple chocolate banana bread is a riff on my chocolate banana bread recipe with the addition of miniature dark chocolate chips. Seriously, how can anyone go wrong with three different chocolate ingredients in a banana bread recipe? You can’t.

Do you see hints of mini dark chocolate chips throughout the bread? Using miniature chocolate chips provides an even distribution of dark chocolatey goodness throughout the loaf. Got bananas? Love chocolate? Make some Triple Chocolate Banana Bread. Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

3 – 4 RIPE bananas (peeled and mashed well)

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup white sugar

1 egg (beaten)

1 tsp chocolate extract (essence)

big pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup extra dark cocoa powder

4 oz miniature dark chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grab a 4 X 8 loaf pan and spray it with non stick cooking spray. In a medium sized mixing bowl mix the mashed bananas, butter, sugar, egg, and chocolate extract. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, extra dark cocoa powder and miniature dark chocolate chips. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the baking pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack. Slice and serve.

*** If using frozen bananas be sure to thaw them first and to peel them well. Frozen bananas once thawed are mushier than fresh. That’s why they work well in banana bread.

Yesterday morning while Bruce was opening the mail he noticed that our natural gas bill was unusually low as compared to years past. He was concerned, shouted out to me and asked me what I thought of it. Well, the answer was easy. Our kitchen stove uses natural gas and I have hardly cooked anything for the family over the course of the past month or two. If it was not for fast food, roast Costco chicken, or frozen dinners the members of my family would have starved to death…

I’ve been working long hours lately and I’ve rarely spent time in my kitchen. My refrigerator, coffee maker and microwave have been the only appliances that have been put to use. My stove, ovens and stand mixer have been idle and collecting dust. My camera has remained in the closet and has not been touched. By the time I get home in the evenings all I want to do is sit on my couch in complete peace and quiet. I stopped reading my magazines, books and favorite food blogs. I’ve hardly checked Facebook and ignored my personal emails. Feral Kitchen has been mothballed and a good home cooked meal has been nonexistent in our home. On the bright side, I know that these long hours are temporary and life will be back to normal before I know it. I look forward to getting back into the kitchen. Cooking makes me happy.

Well, all things considered, today is a brand new day. Today is different. Today, I have a day off!

This morning while out shopping for groceries for the week, I spied two pounds of fresh picked blueberries. They were just gorgeous! Bright blue, fat and juicy. Without hesitation, they went straight into my shopping basket. I knew what I wanted to do with them. I wanted to make some blueberry bread for breakfast and maybe even share some with coworkers during the busy work week. The rest will be packed in my lunch and the others will be made into a tangy blueberry ginger vinaigrette. If the vinaigrette turns out the way I want it to taste, I will be sure to share the recipe with you sometime soon.

I love blueberries! I love the flavor and color. What’s funny about blueberries is that I refused to eat them as a child. How weird is that? I find it so interesting how my palate has changed as I’ve aged. I’m curious, has that happened to you too?

My blueberry bread is packed with fresh plump blueberries and is not too sweet. A slice or two is great with a cup of coffee or tea. Any leftover loaves are perfect for sharing with friends and family or as a hostess gift. Makes 3 delicious loaves. It’s good to be back. See you again soon! Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tsp lemon extract

3 cups fresh blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, canola oil, and lemon extract. Add blueberries to the wet ingredients. Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until moist and lumpy. Don’t over mix. Add mixture to 3 greased 4 x 8 loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour or until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before slicing. Makes 3 fabulous loaves!

I have always loved homemade tortillas. There are only a few Mexican restaurants here in Southern Oregon that serve homemade tortillas with their lunches and dinners. And, their fresh homemade tortillas are usually the reason that I visit. Tortillas are thin unleavened flat breads made from white, wheat or corn flour. Depending on the type or size, tortillas are used to make tacos, burritos, enchiladas and many other Mexican and Latin American dishes.

My favorite type of tortilla is made from flour and is small enough for tacos. That is the type of tortilla that I will share with you today. With few ingredients, one would think that they are super easy to make. They are, but it takes a bit of practice to make a batch of perfectly round tortillas. Once you get the hang of it, it is likely that you would not want to purchase store bought again. I sometimes use a tortilla press but a good rolling pin also works just fine.

A tortilla press. Tortilla presses can be made from wood, metal or plastic. Don’t buy the plastic. I broke my plastic tortilla press in half a couple of weeks ago. If you are going to purchase one, look for one that is sturdy and can withstand a good amount of force. My new tortilla press is made from cast aluminum. I hope that I don’t eventually break this one too…

I use a comal to cook my tortillas. A comal is a flat griddle used to cook tortillas and many other dishes. It’s a bit over a foot in diameter and seems to be a versatile little pan.

Place flour, baking powder, lard and salt in a food processor. Pulse a couple of times to mix. Add water and pulse again until the dough forms a ball. Remove and knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 12 balls and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit for about 15 to 20 minutes. Heat up a dry skillet or a comal to medium high heat. Using a tortilla press or rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, roll a ball of dough into a 6 inch disk. Place on the skillet and cook for just a few minutes on each side. Remove and place cooked tortilla in a covered warmer. Repeat with remaining dough. Makes 12 tortillas.

The recipe that I am sharing with you today is one of my most favorite of our family recipes. They’re called Gevulde Broodjes. Translated from Dutch, it means stuffed buns. It’s one of those dishes that I like to prepare because it reminds me of my most fondest childhood memories. Many years ago my Oma used to make these for my sister and I whenever we visited her home. The filling for these little rolls is the same as the filling that she used to make for her kroketten (croquettes). Kroketten is another recipe that I need to share one day soon!

Gevulde Broodjes are small fist sized dinner rolls that are hollowed out and stuffed with a warm beefy filling. They are generally served as a snack but I have also made them for lunch or even dinner. Last summer my Uncle Boebi made a large batch of these rolls to share with our family. Within a few short minutes, the Gevulde Broodjes were gone. Scarfing the rolls is probably a better word to describe what happened. That was the only time over the entire weekend with the family that there was near complete silence in the home. Silence because everyone was quietly devouring the rolls :). My family loves these little beef rolls and I hope that you do too. Enjoy! Tessa

Slice the top off of the roll…

Gently hollow out the roll. Save the crumbs for another dish…

Stuff the rolls with beef mixture and replace the top. Now they’re ready to warm up and serve!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 cup white onion (minced)

1 cup celery leaves and stems (minced)

2 Tbs butter

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 tsp garlic paste

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/3 cup flour (use more if needed)

2/3 cup water (use more if needed)

salt to taste

12 soft french bread dinner rolls

Melt butter in a large frying pan. Cook onions and celery on medium heat until onions are translucent, taking care not to brown the mixture. Add ground beef and mix well and cook for a few minutes until nearly done and the beef is finely crumbled. Drain any grease out of the pan. Add chicken bouillon cubes, garlic, coriander, nutmeg, and white pepper. In a separate bowl, \whisk together the flour and water until there are no lumps. Add flour mixture to beef mixture and cook for about 15 minutes, constantly stirring until the flour taste is gone. Add additional flour and water if needed. Taste and correct your seasonings and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start cutting the tops off the dinner rolls and set the tops aside. Using your fingers, gently remove the center of the rolls. Be sure to leave 1/2 inch of bread on all sides of the roll. Do the same for the tops of the rolls also. Do this until each of the rolls have been hollowed out. Fill each roll with about the beef mixture and add back the tops. Place rolls in a baking pan, cover with foil and bake until warmed through. Serve with good quality yellow mustard.

Beer Breads are some of my favorite loaves of bread to bake. They’re easy, require few ingredients and taste delicious. For years I have made the same Whole Wheat Beer Bread and it has always been my “go to” recipe. “Go to” until now… My favorite Whole Wheat Beer Bread recipe now has to share the spotlight. I have a new recipe that is equally delicious but with a different spin. I call it Sesame Seed Beer Bread. It’s made with all purpose white flour, Oregon brewed beer, and black and white sesame seeds.

When Bruce came home from work last week I saw him walking up the stairs from the garage with a large bright orange pumpkin in his arms. He received it as a gift from a friend who has a large vegetable garden at her home. I love pumpkin but the only time I ever bake or use pumpkin in a recipe it is always with the stuff that comes out of a can. Shocking huh? So, obviously, the only thing that came to mind was to carve it and place it on the front porch for Halloween. Halloween was nearly a month away so I put it on my kitchen counter and there it sat…

Every time that I looked at that pumpkin, I would wonder if it would even make it until the end of October. And then it happened…. I received an email update from Barbara Bamber from Just A Smidgen with a recipe on how to roast and puree a pumpkin. Thanks to Barbara, I got a big chunk of my kitchen counter back and I even learned a new kitchen trick. Click here to get her beautifully detailed step by step instructions on how to do it. And as a bonus I made a couple of delicious loaves of Pumpkin Cranberry Bread with my puree!

This is the pumpkin that hogged all the real estate on my kitchen counter. It would have carved nicely but I think it made an even better puree :D.

Making pumpkin puree is easy. All I had to do was to cut the top off, scoop out the seeds and slice it in large pieces. I put the pumpkin chunks on a baking sheet, covered it tightly with foil and baked it at 350 degrees for about an hour or until fork tender. Once cool enough to handle, I peeled the skin off and tossed the pumpkin pieces in the food processor and pulsed it until well blended. I measured the puree and popped what I did not need into the freezer for use at a later date. The plan is to make a pie or two for Thanksgiving with the leftover puree. Canned pumpkin is now officially banned from my kitchen!

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread…. Moist and flavorful and made with sweet dried cranberries that I purchased from my last trip to the Oregon coast. I made two loaves and I thought I’d share one with my coworkers at the office. I sliced it up, put it in the break room and it was not long until it was gone. Thank you Barbara for the easy pumpkin puree lesson! Enjoy! Tessa

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9″ by 5″ baking pans. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. In another bowl mix together the white sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until moistened. Fold in the cranberries and add mixture to the prepared baking pans. Bake for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 – 10 minutes. Carefully, remove loaves from pans and place on baking racks until cool. Makes 2 delicious loaves!

Over 25 years ago I created a quick bread called Lemon Zucchini Pineapple Bread. I posted the bread recipe on my website about a year ago and it was a real hit. Since limes are some of my favorite citrus fruits, I naturally thought it would be a great idea to substitute the lemon flavor with the lime.

With zucchinis growing like crazy in my little garden, I thought I would give my new quick bread idea a try… I grabbed my garden basket, a sharp knife and my camera and headed out to the garden. While picking my zucchinis I had to stop and check out the other plants in the vicinity.

Fresh picked zucchini.

Grape leaf. I just love the shape, color and its jagged edges.

Some of the first tomatoes of the year. These are the Sun Gold variety. Whenever I weed or water my garden I stop by and pop a few of these juicy tomatoes in my mouth. I also like to pick a handful for my lunch or for a snack while I am working at my desk.

Part of my little garden. I try to utilize as much space as possible. Lemon cucumbers share the same pot as edible nasturtiums. Winter squash, yellow zucchini and green zucchini share a small 3 by 8 foot planting strip. There’s even mammoth sunflowers growing behind them in the strip. No space in my little garden goes underutilized. Plants have to learn to share space if they want to exist in my garden. I make it a point rotate my crops from year to year to ensure good soil health. Rotating crops means I will not put plants in the same place as they were planted last year. Zucchini squash might get planted where tomatoes used to reside the prior year and vice versa.

Fresh home grown zucchini ready to be picked. Later on that afternoon this zucchini ended up in my Lime Zucchini Pineapple Bread. Adding the fresh squeezed lime juice, brightly flavored lime zest and sweet crushed pineapple makes a delicious loaf of zucchini bread. It’s light, moist and perfect for a quick breakfast or with a cup of coffee on break.

To prove that my recipe was a keeper, I had to test my new bread recipe on Bruce without telling him what was in it… First of all, the man claims to hate zucchini. He would not try it in a million years if I told him that there was zucchini in it. Unknown to him, I slip zucchini in many of the dishes that I prepare for him. Okay… I guess what he does not know won’t hurt him. I look at it this way. I’m doing him a huge favor. He’s eating his veggies without really knowing it.

After I pulled the loaves out of the oven and let them cool, I walked downstairs with a huge grin and popped a piece of the Lime Zucchini Pineapple Bread in his mouth as he relaxed on the couch. He looked back at me and told me that it tasted good. I then happily confessed to him that there was zucchini in it… Makes 2 fabulous loaves. Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

2/3 cup canola oil

1 8 oz can crushed pineapple drained well

2 cups zucchini grated

1 Tbs lime zest

1 Tbs lime juice

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Grab 2- 4″ X 8″ baking pans and grease well. In a medium sized bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, canola oil, pineapple, zucchini, lime juice and lime zest. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until moistened. Do not over mix. This will look like a thick cake batter, and that is okay, it’s supposed to be that way. Add the mixture to the two baking pans and bake for 1 hour or until done. Cool on wire racks then remove loaves from pans. Slice and serve!

Years ago when Bruce and I bought our home I noticed that the former owners planted strawberry plants on the side of our house behind the shed and next to the fence. At the time, there were no berries on the plants and over the years, I completely forgot about them… Until just the other day.

I was out weeding my little garden and was tossing the weeds in a pile next to the fence. As I looked at my growing pile of weeds I noticed little flecks of red tucked amongst the foliage. I stopped what I was doing and headed towards the vibrant red colors. Strawberries! And bunches of them! The forgotten strawberry patch grew over the years and produced handfuls of delicious little berries. I grabbed my garden basket and picked a couple of pints of the succulent little berries. Some of the berries were feasted upon by snails and slugs but most of the berries were perfectly intact. What a score!

Little pink Sweet William flowers blooming next to my garden.

Blue iris growing on the edge of our pond.

Fresh fragrant dill ready to be picked.

Every year, I grow herbs in big pots on the patio next to my kitchen. That way, I can step out the side door and snip what I need while I am cooking. In the pots I have fresh dill, oregano, rosemary, basil, parsley, chives, mint, tarragon, sage, and marjoram. I love using fresh herbs when I cook. Growing your own herbs is easy and many herbs are even perennial. Herbs that are perennial mean that they grow back every year. I added a small handful of dill to my basket of strawberries for some grilled salmon later in the evening.

With my basket of fresh picked strawberries, I decided to make Strawberry Banana Bread. I used my basic banana bread recipe and I am happy to say that it was pretty good! The only thing that I would change is that the next time I make it is I would use an 8 X 4 inch pan instead of the 9 X5 inch pan. The Strawberry Banana Bread took a bit longer to bake than I wanted and the exterior was a tad bit darker than I would like. It was moist and flavorful but as Bruce would say, I have my standards :). So, here’s the recipe… Take my advice and use a slightly smaller pan. You might even try baking the batter in muffin tins for wonderful little strawberry banana muffins. Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

4 bananas (mashed well)

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp lemon extract

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chopped strawberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 X 5 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium sized bowl add mashed bananas, melted butter, sugar, eggs and lemon extract. Mix well. In another bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix well. Gently fold in the strawberries. Add mixture to greased baking pan and bake for about an hour or until done. Use a toothpick to check. Let cool on baking rack and slice. Makes one loaf.

I promised Bruce yesterday evening that I would watch him run a 5K race up at Lost Creek Lake early this morning. Frankly, I was not too thrilled about getting up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning but I knew that I had an opportunity to get out of the house, get some fresh mountain air and spend a little bit of time walking around the lake.

It was still early and the air was cool… Not many people were out on the lake. I saw only one sailboat and maybe just a couple of fisherman. While Bruce was warming up for his race, I took an opportunity to walk around and take in the gorgeous scenery.

Mid morning at the lake.

A pair of Canada Geese were nervously watching me as I walked by… I could hear them lightly honking to each other as I got closer.

As I walked along the lake shore, another goose flew by. His mate was not far behind…

Bruce at the race. He did really well! He earned a third place ribbon!

After the race was over and we were walking back to the truck, Bruce asked me if we had any plans for the rest of the day and if I thought about dinner. What? Dinner? Seriously? It’s still morning! I had to remember that he just ran a 5k and the man was hungry! I needed to think fast and then I told him that I was going to barbecue some chicken, make a fresh picked green salad and bake some Rosemary Parmesan Corn Muffins with snipped rosemary from our garden. Lucky for me (or him… depending on how you look at it), he liked that idea :).

As soon as we got home I started to assemble the muffins. My Rosemary Parmesan Corn Muffins are super easy to make and taste fabulous warm with fresh cream butter. Serve the Rosemary Parmesan Corn Muffins with homemade chili, stew or at your next backyard barbecue. Makes about a dozen muffins. Enjoy! Tessa

Ingredients:

1 cup corn meal

1 cup all purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (shaved)

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 tsp fresh rosemary (chopped)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a medium sized mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl whisk together the canola oil, milk, egg and fresh rosemary. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix lightly until there are no lumps left in the batter. Spray muffin pans with nonstick spray. Put batter into muffin pans and bake for about 15-20 minutes until the muffins are a light golden brown. Remove from pans and let cool on a wire rack. Serve with sweet cream butter.